Stephan the Story of a Juicer
by Andromeda Starfire
Summary: This is the story of a young man in love who is faced with a difficult choice and the consequences thereof. Please note that I do not own or claim to have made any part of the Rifts universe. That honor goes to Palladium. I have merely used their gamin
1. Chapter 1

"Don't do it Stephan!"

"I have to Nadia."

"No! I won't wait for you, I won't." Then pleading, "You'll become a freak and then if you survive your body will be burned out. What kind of future is that? You leave in your prime and come back aged, who knows how much? You think that's something to build our future on?"

"It's the only one I can offer you." Stephan ran his hands through his blond hair in frustration. "Look, I'll send you all the money I make, so that you and the kids can survive without having to beg or…or worse. But I'm a nobody and I've got nothing that anyone wants. If I undergo conversion then I'll be one of the highest paid warriors in the worldand I'll be able to put food on the table and decent clothes on you. We could even buy a real home."

Deep brown eyes watched him, "Don't do it. We'll get by somehow. I can do a little bit of sewing and…"

"And what?" Stephan began to pace in the small shack, his big frame dwarfing the cast off furniture. "We wait until someone bigger and meaner takes what we've worked so hard for? A hovel with broken sticks of furniture?"

Nadia scowled, her lips pressing into a firm line, her plain face falling into lines of disapproval. "It may be a hovel but we earned our place here honestly and not by theunnatural conversions of our bodies. They will rebuild you, they'll use little machines and remake you from the ground up. I fell in love with a man, not a soulless freak."

Realizing his mistake he uttered a rare curse under his breath and tried a different tack. "Nadia, my darling…"

"Don't you 'my darling' me." She turned away from him, crossing her bone thin arms over her chest.

With a sigh he turned toward the door, "Look, now things are different. You're going to have a baby and I want more for my kid than just scraping out an existence. I want more for you than living at the mercy of any arrogant basta--um…thug who happens along. I don't want to be forced to stand by while you and my child are forced into slavery or something like that. If…If you won't wait for me…then I'll send you the profit anyway and you can use it to take care of our child." He looked back over the cramped shack and shook his head slowly, then walked out the door.

"Stephan!" She screamed from the doorway, "You do it and you're dead to me! Dead! Do you understand me?"

He kept on walking. _Why couldn't Nadia understand that he was doing this because he loved her? He'd always loved her it seemed, from the time they'd been little street urchins until they'd become old enough to be together on their own. Now she was having his child and he wanted more than the life of a street beggar for his children. Why couldn't she understand that? Every day women and children were kidnapped and never seen or heard from again. With money they could move to someplace safer, they wouldn't have to go to bed with empty stomachs. He wasn't a trained solider, he was just a kid who was in love and had a baby on the way. He knew he'd survive, he'd see his kid. Nadia was probably just afraid of losing him but he was tough, he'd make it back._ He'd found the offer several days ago. Conversion paid for in exchange for 18 months of service in the local militia, then going rates for as long as you stayed in or survived.

**18 Months Later**

Breaking into the run down shack had been easy, creeping through the small spaces a bit harder, his enhanced senses picking up the scent of stale sweat and old diapers but now, standing…looming over the side by side cradles he knew it'd been worth it.

Twins…his children. How sweet they looked, sleeping innocently in their little hand woven cradles. They looked healthy…he picked one up, the boy. He weighed a good amount for a baby that size. His money was being used to take care of his children, just as he'd asked.

He left a small bundle for each child next to the cradles before turning to creep into the other bedroom. She was there, asleep. Carefully he woke her.

She bolted upright in the rickety bed, a startled cry on her lips. In the darkness she could barely make out the hulking form that stood there, waiting. "Who are you?" She tried to demand, but the frightened quiver in her voice gave her away.

"Nadia," He spoke slowly, soothingly.

"Stephan. No! You're dead. I told you that. You're dead." She blurted, darting a frightened eye toward the room where the babies slept. "You left them and me when you made the choice to become less than human. Now go and don't ever return."

He nodded, not really surprised. The conversion had changed him and changing back would likely kill him…still, he'd had to know if she would take him back. He'd sacrificed his body and dreams for her, he'd hoped that somehow she'd have been…grateful? Maybe at least let him get to know his children. With a sad shrug he turned to leave, whispering, "Goodbye."

He stopped in the children's room, giving each a soft kiss on the forehead before leaving, never to return. He didn't even look back as he strode away into the night leaving his heart in that small room with two cradles.


	2. Chapter 2

Chris gave Stephan a roguish smile and led the way through the rough canyon walls, weaving nimbly around and sometimes just plain leaping over fallen debris from steep sides.

Stephan just shook his head as he followed along. Both men were big, both were juicers moving with a speed and power that un-augmented humans couldn't possibly achieve.

"You want to remind me why I'm tagging along here?" Stephan spoke so quickly that to someone with normal hearing it'd be almost impossible to sort the words out.

Chris turned and grinned, his face still boyish despite the augmentation, "sure mate, you lost that last hand of poker. We bet—"

Whatever Chris had been going to say was cut off as he tripped over a largish bleached tree branch that had been left in the arroyo by the last flash flood.

"It's funny how being a juicer hasn't improved your agility any," Stephan leaped lightly over his fallen friend chuckling.

Chris rolled and pushing up on his heels arced his body until he was able to push off with his hands and into a standing position, beginning running almost immediately. The whole action took less than a second. "Yeah, but you get used to it...after a while."

The two friends ran on for some time, keeping to the canyons and arroyos to stay out of the harsh glare of the sun whenever possible.

Finally they stopped briefly to rest and eat.

"Now what exactly are you after again from this place?" Stephan talked around a mouthful of food.

"Mmm.." Chris held up one hand and took a drink from his canteen to wash the food down. "Extended lifespan."

Stephan snorted but couldn't hide the cloud that entered his eyes. "You know that's a load of—"

"No!" Chris leaped up, waiving his hands excitedly, "This is different. I've heard that they can extend a juicers life by 20 years. Man…I don't want to die. Not ever!"

Stephan shook his head sadly and ran a calloused hand through his blond hair. "Then why the hell..?"

Chris shook his head impatiently, "I told you. I had to. I wanted to be something and the money…"

Stephan cut in angrily, "Always the money! That's why I did it too." Then he added so quietly that even Chris with his augmented hearing had to strain to catch the words. "It's not worth what we sacrifice."

Chris snarled and grabbed Stephan by his huge upper arms, hauling him to his feet and giving him a shake. "Too late for that, mate. Too late for a lot of things. We got the power, now we need to figure out a way to keep it and live."

Stephan nodded wearily. "Lead on then and lets hope that you're right."

Chris threw his head back and laughed, releasing his friend and slapping him on the back hard enough to send Stephan sprawling. "You gave up after that Sheila turned you away."

Stephan growled at Chris warningly. "Let it lie or I'll kick your ass." Stephan vaulted to his feet and caught Chris in a headlock. "I've always been faster than you are." He sighed and let go of his struggling friend. "I'm a realist, that's all. Now lets get going and don't do anything stupid ok? Check these people out thoroughly before you agree to anything."

Chris gave Stephan a rueful smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ok, Stephan. No need to get all uptight about it." Then he laughed, "Race ya!"

Some hours later found the two juicer friends on the fringes of what appeared to be a sprawling western town. The tech firm here claimed to have acquired the same process that was being used in Newton.

"How did you hear about this?" Stephan walked beside his friend, not liking the vibes he was getting from the town one single bit.

Chris shrugged one heavily muscled shoulder and grinned. "I got friends in low places," he sang an old song with a creditable twang.

"Yeah, yeah," Stephan slugged him on the shoulder, "Where the whisky runs through the oasis. I got it. Speaking of which I could use a drink after that little jog."

Chris turned and gave Stephan a look, "Man, how can you drink that stuff…it'll kill ya you know."

Stephan stopped in his tracks and gave Chris a hard stare. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "Chris…ah never mind."

"I'm going to get a drink, what will you be doing?" Stephan indicated a rather ramshackle looking tavern to his left and just slightly hidden behind another newer looking building.

"Oh, I'm going to go get my harness looked at. They've got a doc around here, so my source told me. I'm feeling a little off. Probably need a minor adjustment." Chris shrugged again.

Stephan just shook his head. "How do you know?"

Chris just grinned, "I don't know, I just do. I feel a little off and I get it checked out. Always something when I get that feeling. A little tweak here or there and I'm good as new. You should come too. You could probably use a quick once over yourself."

Stephan paused his expression unreadable. "Whyever didn't you become one of those psychic juicers I heard about?"

"A Phaeton Juicer? No way mate!" Chris actually looked shocked, "Do you know what happens to those guys? Besides, the best I've got is an occasional feeling that something isn't right and it usually only works for myself. Now how are the psy-docs supposed to do anything with that?"

Stephan followed his friend into the clinic, eschewing the liquor that he'd wanted in exchange for a 'tune-up' as Chris so colorfully put it while speaking to the pretty little receptionist.

Later on Stephan walked out of the small but neat examination room, putting his shirt back on and shaking his head ruefully. Chris was chatting up the receptionist, who despite her obvious reservations about juicers in general was slowly falling under the dark haired, green-eyed juicers charm.

Stephan grabbed his friend by the upper arm and dragged him out the door.

"Hey Mate!" Chris protested, waiving a hand at the receptionist. "Later darlin'."

Once they were out in the street Stephan swung around to face his friend. "How did you know?" He demanded.

"Know what?" Chris looked momentarily confused then somewhat abashed as he realized what his friend was talking about. "Oh, that. What? They find something?"

"Yeah, IRMSS system was almost completely shut down somehow. But that doesn't explain how the hell you knew."

Chris shrugged, gazing off over the low roofs of some houses. "I told you, I get these feelings." He turned troubled eyes to Stephan, "c'mon mate, lets go get ourselves a place to stay for a few days and some hot grub."

Stephan nodded slowly and turned to look around. The town was rustic like most frontier towns. People in rough homespun clothes walked side by side with mercs in high-tech armor. There were some surprising places though. Some high tech places. Like they'd managed to salvage the hospital that had been there before the time of the Rifts. Also some Tech supply places standing alongside stalls that had been set up to sell local farmers goods.

While they were gawking a rather busty young woman ran smack into them nearly knocking Stephan off his feet.

"Hey there Sheila, what's the hurry?" Chris turned up the charm as he helped steady the woman.

"Get your meaty paws off of me you big baboon." The girl snarled.

Chris immediately held both hands up and away from her, "Hey darlin' I'm just trying to be friendly."

Stephan dusting himself off added rather nonchalantly, "You're the one who ran into us as I recall."

Chris gave him a pained look and shot in a stage whisper, "Steph, let me handle the ladies. Your technique…well you'd have to work your way up to needing polishing."

Stephan gave him an incredulous stare before wandering over to one of the stalls selling freshly baked breads and other delicious smelling foods. By the time he'd purchased a couple things for later Chris was chatting amicably with the blond, his arm draped possessively around her narrow shoulders.

Walking back over with his purchases, Stephan was in time to hear Chris say, "Hyperion Juicer, you don't say? I've heard about them but never met one before. Are all of them as sleek as you?"

The blonde gave Chris a playful smack on the arm, "No you Neanderthal, but we are all speedsters." She turned and gave Stephan an appraising look before turning back to Chris, "who's your friend?"

"Oh this here's Stephan, possibly the most serious juicer you'll ever meet. He doesn't' buy into the live fast, fight well, die young mantra of most juicers." Chris gave a bright smile, "but then neither do I. I mean living fast is great and fighting, well I am probably the best around…"

Stephan snorted and grinned shaking his head, earning a mock glare from his friend who continued as if there had been no interruption at all. "But I plan on living for a good long time."

"Ha ha! Vanessa, is this the kind of throwback you're taking to hanging with these days?" A mocking voice called out just before a blur of motion zipped by causing the Blonde to leap to one side, very nearly crossing the entire street in one single fluid motion, while Chris lunged to the other side and Stephan hopped half way down the block, managing not to squish the bread he'd bought.

"Ridley you jerk!" The blonde called back, "Just because you haven't got half the appeal Chris here does, you think you've got to show off."

"Chris, eh? Old style juicer is he? I'll just take him down and you can cross one more potential lover off your list." The blur zipped back landing a pretty nasty punch on Chris as he dodged again, back flipping across the street to draw the other away from the stores and crowd.

"A friend of yours, Vanessa?" He spared a glance at the blonde Hyperion Juicer he'd just met.

"Ridley is a jackass." She shot back, "He went through Hyperion conversion about the same time I did and so thinks he has some kind of claim on me."

"I've got your back," Stephan spoke quietly, watching the Hyperion Ridley circle through the crowd.

Chris shot a grim smile at his friend, "I can handle this punk."

"His turning radius is greater than yours," Stephan pointed out nonchalantly.

Chris just grinned and stepped out into the middle of the by now cleared street.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance, Ridley," Vanessa spat.

Just then the Hyperion shot past Chris, who nimbly danced away from the vibro-blade that suddenly shot out at him. Chris looked grim as he darted one foot out in an attempt to trip the kid.

Ridley laughed, shaking his red head. "You gotta do better than that you old fool," he scoffed as he easily avoided the foot Chris had stuck out.

Chris just grunted as the punk ran full speed into his outstretched arm, neatly clothes lining himself. "Idiot. You gotta watch where you're going when you're moving that fast. The foot was just a distraction."

Flat on his back in the street Ridley gasped and tried to breathe through his crushed windpipe but to no avail. He was dead before Chris had crossed over to where Stephan and Vanessa were waiting.

"Wish it hadn't killed him," Chris commented.

Vanessa curled her lip, "He was begging for someone to cut his throat in his sleep. Don't waste your sympathy on him."

Stephan just shook his head. "Wasteful."

Chris resolutely turned away from the sprawling body and draped his arm around Vanessas shoulder again. "Well now lovely lady, do you know where a couple of juicers could find a place to stay around here?"


End file.
